Twenty-second Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 125

Moses said to the people:
“Now, Israel, hear the statutes and decrees
which I am teaching you to observe,
that you may live, and may enter in and take possession of the land
which the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you.
In your observance of the commandments of the LORD, your God,
which I enjoin upon you,
you shall not add to what I command you nor subtract from it.
Observe them carefully,
for thus will you give evidence
of your wisdom and intelligence to the nations,
who will hear of all these statutes and say,
‘This great nation is truly a wise and intelligent people.’
For what great nation is there
that has gods so close to it as the LORD, our God, is to us
whenever we call upon him?
Or what great nation has statutes and decrees
that are as just as this whole law
which I am setting before you today?”

R. (1a) The one who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord.
Whoever walks blamelessly and does justice;
who thinks the truth in his heart
and slanders not with his tongue.
R. The one who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord.
Who harms not his fellow man,
nor takes up a reproach against his neighbor;
by whom the reprobate is despised,
while he honors those who fear the LORD.
R. The one who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord.
Who lends not his money at usury
and accepts no bribe against the innocent.
Whoever does these things
shall never be disturbed.
R. The one who does justice will live in the presence of the Lord.

Dearest brothers and sisters:
All good giving and every perfect gift is from above,
coming down from the Father of lights,
with whom there is no alteration or shadow caused by change.
He willed to give us birth by the word of truth
that we may be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.Humbly welcome the word that has been planted in you
and is able to save your souls.Be doers of the word and not hearers only, deluding yourselves.

Religion that is pure and undefiled before God and the Father is this:
to care for orphans and widows in their affliction
and to keep oneself unstained by the world.

Thank you Sue Poirier for the beautiful floral arrangement from your wonderful garden. All summer long you have made our masses more beautiful and we are so grateful!

When the Pharisees with some scribes who had come from Jerusalem
gathered around Jesus,
they observed that some of his disciples ate their meals
with unclean, that is, unwashed, hands.
—For the Pharisees and, in fact, all Jews,
do not eat without carefully washing their hands,
keeping the tradition of the elders.
And on coming from the marketplace
they do not eat without purifying themselves.
And there are many other things that they have traditionally observed,
the purification of cups and jugs and kettles and beds. —
So the Pharisees and scribes questioned him,
“Why do your disciples not follow the tradition of the elders
but instead eat a meal with unclean hands?”
He responded,
“Well did Isaiah prophesy about you hypocrites, as it is written:This people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines human precepts.
You disregard God’s commandment but cling to human tradition.”He summoned the crowd again and said to them,
“Hear me, all of you, and understand.
Nothing that enters one from outside can defile that person;
but the things that come out from within are what defile.”From within people, from their hearts,
come evil thoughts, unchastity, theft, murder,
adultery, greed, malice, deceit,
licentiousness, envy, blasphemy, arrogance, folly.
All these evils come from within and they defile.”

This is a building Dan Demers built previously, showing the stone work in a completed state.Thank you to St. Elizabeth’s Guild who hosted the Coffee Service this morning!

Thank you Linda Payne for donating this darling table and bench seats where children can quietly read the age appropriate books on the mass! We welcome young children at St. Elizabeth’s and try to make our children’s area inviting!We provide free rosaries and booklets teaching how to say the rosary. We also have literature from EWTN’s children programing. The magnet play set of a church is excellent for a 5 or 6 year old and a good preparation for becoming an altar server!We say goodbye to summer and our summer residents, wishing you Godspeed.Thank you to everyone who has helped to make another summer at St. Elizabeth one filled with blessings and the joy of fellowship!

Twenty-first Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 122

Joshua gathered together all the tribes of Israel at Shechem,
summoning their elders, their leaders,
their judges, and their officers.
When they stood in ranks before God,
Joshua addressed all the people:
“If it does not please you to serve the LORD,
decide today whom you will serve,
the gods your fathers served beyond the River
or the gods of the Amorites in whose country you are now dwelling.
As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.”But the people answered,
“Far be it from us to forsake the LORD
for the service of other gods.
For it was the LORD, our God,
who brought us and our fathers up out of the land of Egypt,
out of a state of slavery.
He performed those great miracles before our very eyes
and protected us along our entire journey
and among the peoples through whom we passed.
Therefore we also will serve the LORD, for he is our God.”

R. (9a) Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.The LORD has eyes for the just,
and ears for their cry.
The LORD confronts the evildoers,
to destroy remembrance of them from the earth.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
When the just cry out, the LORD hears them,
and from all their distress he rescues them.
The LORD is close to the brokenhearted;
and those who are crushed in spirit he saves.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.Many are the troubles of the just one,
but out of them all the LORD delivers him;
he watches over all his bones;
not one of them shall be broken.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

Brothers and sisters:
Be subordinate to one another out of reverence for Christ.
Wives should be subordinate to their husbands as to the Lord.
For the husband is head of his wife
just as Christ is head of the church,
he himself the savior of the body.
As the church is subordinate to Christ,
so wives should be subordinate to their husbands in everything.
Husbands, love your wives,
even as Christ loved the church
and handed himself over for her to sanctify her,
cleansing her by the bath of water with the word,
that he might present to himself the church in splendor,
without spot or wrinkle or any such thing,
that she might be holy and without blemish.
So also husbands should love their wives as their own bodies.
He who loves his wife loves himself.
For no one hates his own flesh
but rather nourishes and cherishes it,
even as Christ does the church,
because we are members of his body.For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother
and be joined to his wife,
and the two shall become one flesh.
This is a great mystery,
but I speak in reference to Christ and the church.orBrothers and sisters:
Live in love, as Christ loved us.
Husbands, love your wives,
even as Christ loved the church
and handed himself over for her to sanctify her,
cleansing her by the bath of water with the word,
that he might present to himself the church in splendor,
without spot or wrinkle or any such thing,
that she might be holy and without blemish.
So also husbands should love their wives as their own bodies.
He who loves his wife loves himself.
For no one hates his own flesh
but rather nourishes and cherishes it,
even as Christ does the church,
because we are members of his body.For this reason a man shall leave his father and his mother
and be joined to his wife,
and the two shall become one flesh.
This is a great mystery,
but I speak in reference to Christ and the church.

Many of Jesus’ disciples who were listening said,
“This saying is hard; who can accept it?”
Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this,
he said to them, “Does this shock you?
What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending
to where he was before?
It is the spirit that gives life,
while the flesh is of no avail.
The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life.
But there are some of you who do not believe.”
Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe
and the one who would betray him.
And he said,
“For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me
unless it is granted him by my Father.”As a result of this,
many of his disciples returned to their former way of life
and no longer accompanied him.
Jesus then said to the Twelve, “Do you also want to leave?”
Simon Peter answered him, “Master, to whom shall we go?
You have the words of eternal life.
We have come to believe
and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.”

HOMILY:

“How beautiful it is when people share with one another.”

3 videos of Fr. Shane’s homily:

Pumpkin Patch Princess Riley Cissell in Grammy Sue Poirier’s garden!

Thank you Fr. Luis for extending the outdoor masses two more weeks into September! We know it’s extra work for you and we sincerely appreciate it!

Memorial Plaques Program Update

As you can see, progress is moving along in the repair of the pews and grooming of the grounds. Our team has been working very hard and we have received generous support through the purchase of plaques. The stonework for the shed will start next week and that will be an exciting change! Dan Demers will do the work and it will be very attractive and complimentary to the existing stonework on the altar.

Thank you all for your generous support. It is lovely to read the heartfelt inscriptions for the plaque orders, and we hope our Outdoor Church will continue to be a holy place where you can pray and remember your loved ones in a serene and beautiful environment.

We are calling for sponsors in addition to Memorial Plaques in order to cover our costs. Here is a copy of the letter being sent out, with a form:

Sponsors will be recognized by signage placed along Fourth Street for maximum public display. Please feel free to print out the letter and form and send to people you think might be inclined to participate.

You will see 4 benches have been placed in St. Hubert’s Hall Yard, and people are enjoying them, workers taking their lunch breaks and visitors to the Farmer’s Market enjoying treats.

Each bench will have this 4 x 8 inch enamel sign reminding them to clean up after themselves.

Take a stroll through the outdoor church in the late afternoon when shafts of sunlight pierce the trees, it is very pretty!

Thank you Ingrid and Herb for a delicious lunch / picnic of chicken and ribs, salad, fresh vegetables roasted with herbs and creme brulee dessert! Gracious ambiance and old world feeling of hospitality so appreciated!

The focus of the Congress this year family holiness. The Friday session was for catholic school teachers, religious educators and deacons of the diocese. The Saturday session was a general audience session.

The morning session started with mass said by Bishop Robert Vassa, with the St. Eugene’s Choir singing. With the heavy burden of the recent priest scandal, Bishop Vasa started the morning with a statement. Rather than paraphrasing him, his thoughts can be found on the diocesan website.

The Bishop pointed out the error in the understanding the scripture “wherever two or three are gathered…” to imply some sort of inherent virtue in mere gathering. He stressed we must remember “IN MY NAME” and that in our gossip, in our daily communications and our thoughts, we must struggle to be Christ-like. Bishop Vasa then encouraged educators to not only teach knowledge but to somehow give students an experience of Christ.

Deacon Dennis Purificacion, Diocesan Director of Religious Education, then spoke about the good news that there has been a three fold increase in certification among the Diocesan Catholic School teachers. He assured the audience that each school has a director of religious education in communication with his office. He also told us there will be a special Day of Prayer on October 7th, remembering the victims of the fires last fall. He proceeded to introduce the first speaker of the day, in a general session.

As we arrived in the morning we were greeted with the gorgeous singing by St. Eugene’s Choir practicing for the mass. In this video you see the offerings from St. Eugene’s Workshop, The Passion Play from Lake County booth and a wonderful religious gift business from Sacramento who raised money to send 6 youths to World Youth Day.

The general session was lead by Mark Brumley, M.A., President of St. Ignatius Press and author of The Seven Deadly Sins of Apologetics. A convert to Catholicism from the Evangelical tradition, he spoke of his faith journey and understanding of Catholic devotion to Mary. He stressed the importance of students receiving thorough training in apologetics so they can answer challenges to their faith from others as well as in their own minds. Then we split into the following sessions:

Deacon Dance Farrell, for Secondary Level “Virtues: A Language for Sharing Human Dignity with High School Students.”

Marie Mullen, for Elementary: “The Virtues in Practice Session.”

Lou Judd, for Coaches and Open for all: “The Four Pillars of Sports Leader: Virtue, Mentoring, Ceremony and Catholic Identity and How This Program Can Transform the Culture of Sports.”

Carlin and Deacon Dave Gould, “Human Love According to the Divine Plan.”

Vendor booths were in the gym and therefore blessed to hear Marie Mullen’s presentation of “The Virtues in Practice” program developed by Nashville Dominican Sisters for a whole school or whole family focus, covering 27 virtues over a 3 year cycle and 81 saints held up; as models of virtues. This is a wonderful program with strong methods for blending virtue into play and study experiences for children of all ages. Children are taught a code of ethics and to be observant of their own behavior and others, always remembering to bring virtue into daily situations. Much love and thoughtfulness is in this program and is an affordable, practical way to imbue Catholic values into a school or home setting.

Saturday

Thank you to all the people involved in organizing the Congress. It was a wonderful experience and a true blessing to be with the devoted people in our diocese, meeting the staff from the diocese and schools, and learning about their needs.

California Marketing Director for EWTN, Monica Marin flew up from Orange County to attend. Monica will be having a webinar to discuss how teachers, home schoolers and parents can utilize EWTN as a resource.

Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 119

Wisdom has built her house,
she has set up her seven columns;
she has dressed her meat, mixed her wine,
yes, she has spread her table.
She has sent out her maidens; she calls
from the heights out over the city:
“Let whoever is simple turn in here;
To the one who lacks understanding, she says,
Come, eat of my food,
and drink of the wine I have mixed!
Forsake foolishness that you may live;
advance in the way of understanding.”

R. (9a) Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Glorify the LORD with me,
let us together extol his name.
I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Look to him that you may be radiant with joy,
and your faces may not blush with shame.
When the poor one called out, the LORD heard,
and from all his distress he saved him.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

Brothers and sisters:
Watch carefully how you live,
not as foolish persons but as wise,
making the most of the opportunity,
because the days are evil.
Therefore, do not continue in ignorance,
but try to understand what is the will of the Lord.
And do not get drunk on wine, in which lies debauchery,
but be filled with the Spirit,
addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing and playing to the Lord in your hearts,
giving thanks always and for everything
in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father.

Jesus said to the crowds:
“I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
whoever eats this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I will give
is my flesh for the life of the world.”

The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying,
“How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
Jesus said to them,
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood,
you do not have life within you.
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood
has eternal life,
and I will raise him on the last day.
For my flesh is true food,
and my blood is true drink.
Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood
remains in me and I in him.
Just as the living Father sent me
and I have life because of the Father,
so also the one who feeds on me
will have life because of me.
This is the bread that came down from heaven.
Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died,
whoever eats this bread will live forever.”

Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 116

Elijah went a day’s journey into the desert,
until he came to a broom tree and sat beneath it.
He prayed for death saying:
“This is enough, O LORD!
Take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.”
He lay down and fell asleep under the broom tree,
but then an angel touched him and ordered him to get up and eat.
Elijah looked and there at his head was a hearth cake
and a jug of water.
After he ate and drank, he lay down again,
but the angel of the LORD came back a second time,
touched him, and ordered,
“Get up and eat, else the journey will be too long for you!”
He got up, ate, and drank;
then strengthened by that food,
he walked forty days and forty nights to the mountain of God, Horeb.

R. (9a) Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Glorify the LORD with me,
Let us together extol his name.
I sought the LORD, and he answered me
And delivered me from all my fears.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Look to him that you may be radiant with joy.
And your faces may not blush with shame.
When the afflicted man called out, the LORD heard,
And from all his distress he saved him.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
The angel of the LORD encamps
around those who fear him and delivers them.
Taste and see how good the LORD is;
blessed the man who takes refuge in him.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.

Brothers and sisters:
Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God,
with which you were sealed for the day of redemption.
All bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and reviling
must be removed from you, along with all malice.
And be kind to one another, compassionate,
forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ.So be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love,
as Christ loved us and handed himself over for us
as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma.

The Jews murmured about Jesus because he said,
“I am the bread that came down from heaven, ”
and they said,
“Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph?
Do we not know his father and mother?
Then how can he say,
‘I have come down from heaven’?”
Jesus answered and said to them,
“Stop murmuring among yourselves.
No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him,
and I will raise him on the last day.
It is written in the prophets:They shall all be taught by God.
Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me.
Not that anyone has seen the Father
except the one who is from God;
he has seen the Father.
Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever believes has eternal life.
I am the bread of life.
Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died;
this is the bread that comes down from heaven
so that one may eat it and not die.
I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
whoever eats this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”

Please join us for Coffee, Savories & Sweets after mass!

Note: No Coffee Service on August 19th because we are going to the Parish Picnic!!!

Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
Lectionary: 113

The whole Israelite community grumbled against Moses and Aaron.
The Israelites said to them,
“Would that we had died at the LORD’s hand in the land of Egypt,
as we sat by our fleshpots and ate our fill of bread!
But you had to lead us into this desert
to make the whole community die of famine!”Then the LORD said to Moses,
“I will now rain down bread from heaven for you.
Each day the people are to go out and gather their daily portion;
thus will I test them,
to see whether they follow my instructions or not.”I have heard the grumbling of the Israelites.
Tell them: In the evening twilight you shall eat flesh,
and in the morning you shall have your fill of bread,
so that you may know that I, the LORD, am your God.”In the evening quail came up and covered the camp.
In the morning a dew lay all about the camp,
and when the dew evaporated, there on the surface of the desert
were fine flakes like hoarfrost on the ground.
On seeing it, the Israelites asked one another, “What is this?”
for they did not know what it was.
But Moses told them,
“This is the bread that the LORD has given you to eat.”

R. (24b) The Lord gave them bread from heaven.
What we have heard and know,
and what our fathers have declared to us,
We will declare to the generation to come
the glorious deeds of the LORD and his strength
and the wonders that he wrought.
R. The Lord gave them bread from heaven.
He commanded the skies above
and opened the doors of heaven;
he rained manna upon them for food
and gave them heavenly bread.
R. The Lord gave them bread from heaven.
Man ate the bread of angels,
food he sent them in abundance.
And he brought them to his holy land,
to the mountains his right hand had won.
R. The Lord gave them bread from heaven.

Brothers and sisters:
I declare and testify in the Lord
that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do,
in the futility of their minds;
that is not how you learned Christ,
assuming that you have heard of him and were taught in him,
as truth is in Jesus,
that you should put away the old self of your former way of life,
corrupted through deceitful desires,
and be renewed in the spirit of your minds,
and put on the new self,
created in God’s way in righteousness and holiness of truth.

R. Alleluia, alleluia.
One does not live on bread alone,
but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.

GospelJN 6:24-35When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there,they themselves got into boatsand came to Capernaum looking for Jesus.And when they found him across the sea they said to him,”Rabbi, when did you get here?”Jesus answered them and said,”Amen, amen, I say to you,you are looking for me not because you saw signsbut because you ate the loaves and were filled.Do not work for food that perishesbut for the food that endures for eternal life,which the Son of Man will give you.For on him the Father, God, has set his seal.”So they said to him,”What can we do to accomplish the works of God?”Jesus answered and said to them,”This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent.”So they said to him,”What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you?What can you do?Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written:He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”So Jesus said to them,”Amen, amen, I say to you,it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven;my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.For the bread of God is that which comes down from heavenand gives life to the world.”So they said to him,”Sir, give us this bread always.”Jesus said to them,”I am the bread of life;whoever comes to me will never hunger,and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”

Some of our younger parishioners helping out…

Thank you to all who have purchased Memorial Plaques! Proceeds from your donations are used to improve the Outdoor Church! We are please to say this week we have framed out the shed and roofed it; next week we hope to continue with the stone exterior which will complement our stone altar.

Jim and his crew on Friday, Aug. 3, showing framed in shed with roof.

Javier and associate at work putting up frame for the Memorial Plaques.

Larry Love and Jim Breaux working every week end removing debris and watering the altar flowers.

Join us for Coffee, Sweets N Savories after the 9:00 AM Mass!

Special thanks to my darling helpers, Riley and Tatum Cissell who drew the artwork for the menu which hangs on a tree by our serving table. Riley patiently drew all those blackberries but got tired filling them in, so needed some help! Tatum did a spectacular job drawing the Blackberry Naked Ombre Cake, don’t you think?Thank you to Kim, our greeter!